The Storm Within
by AquaTurquoise
Summary: Sofia has been acting strangely, and things get even stranger when she runs out on one of her lessons with Cedric one stormy evening. (I apologize in advance for the horrendously long A/N sections in this story. :p There's a point to each though, I promise. :D)


The Storm Within

Summary: Sofia has been acting strangely, and things get even stranger when she runs out on one of her lessons with Cedric one stormy evening.

Disclaimer: I don't own Sofia the First or thunderstorms! :D

A/N: Um… There's a very good reason behind this story, but since it's so long, I'm going to put it at the end of the story. Pardon my rambling when you read it. :p It's late and my mind is all over the place. Onto the story!

"Oh, for Merlin's sake," Cedric sighed as he looked up toward the window near the top of his tower. It had blown open thanks to a strong gust of wind, causing raindrops to pour inside. He glanced toward Sofia, who seemed to be a bit dazed by the sudden action. "I'll be right back." He grabbed his wand and hurried upstairs, closing the window and sealing it with a spell before returning to his spot downstairs.

Sofia blinked at her friend, seeing that his purple robe had darker spots where the rain had blown on him.

"Sorry about that…" He looked up at her as he sat down again. "Did the rain fall on you?"

The princess shook her head and smiled lightly before leaning against her hand, her eyes trailing off toward a passage in the book before her.

"Right then," he stated before looking around his table. "Now where was I?"

While Cedric was mumbling about some of the items he needed to gather, Sofia lowered her arms to the table and rested her head, staring out the window at the rain. She felt her eyes growing heavy, and before she knew it she had closed them completely.

She sat up with a sharp gasp and shivered, making Cedric look toward her strangely.

"Are you okay, Sofia?" he asked in slight concern.

"I…" She bit her lip. What _was_ that feeling? It almost felt like…nostalgia…but not the good kind. It was like a memory of a former existence, but it was so uncomfortable that it sent shivers down her spine.

"Sofia," Cedric said a little more firmly, gaining her attention. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know," she admitted, putting her hands in her lap. "I just feel… I…" She heard a loud thunderclap and looked up, noticing the lightning shoot through the darkened skies. "I feel like this storm…"

"What?" Understanding a young girl's mind was already a mystery to Cedric, but understanding her mind when she was so completely out of it was even harder.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Cedric. I just…" She closed her eyes and felt a few tears stinging the back of her eyelids. She hadn't been expecting _that_. "I've got to go!" She slid from the stool and ran out of the workshop just as another thunderclap struck.

"Sofia!" Cedric called worriedly. "Where are you going?" Sensing something wasn't right, he grabbed a coat and a few towels. He was almost at the door when he heard a loud caw. He turned toward Wormwood, who was staring at him pointedly. "_What_ is it, Wormy? I'm in a hurry."

The raven picked up his wand from the table and flew over, dropping it into Cedric's hand.

"Oh, right…" He smiled sheepishly at the smug-looking raven. "Thanks." He turned and ran downstairs after Sofia.

"Hmm, what would you do without me?" Wormwood mused as he flew back to his perch.

Cedric stepped into the hall and noticed no sign of Sofia. He checked her rooms, but she wasn't there. Hearing another thunderclap, he winced. She wouldn't have gone outside in _this_ weather, right? He sighed, realizing he'd have to use the towels after all, more than likely.

He exited through one of the doors and used his wand to make the towels disappear until he needed them. He then began his search for Sofia.

After looking around for a few minutes, he finally found her sitting near the entrance to her "secret" garden. She was completely drenched and appeared very down.

"Sofia," he started gently, trying not to surprise her and succeeding as she simply looked up at him. "You're going to get sick if you stay out here. What are you doing?" He knelt beside her, clutching his coat closer as he noticed her skin seemed paler than usual.

"I felt very weird earlier," she admitted, refusing to look at him as she wrapped her arms around herself. "I don't know how to explain it, Mr. Cedric, but I didn't feel very comfortable at all. It's like…I kept having these flashbacks to my old life, and I felt out of place when I realized where I was."

Cedric frowned. "So you ran into the rain?" This wasn't making any sense to him. Logic and reasoning were things he depended on, and Sofia wasn't giving him any to go on at the moment.

"Rain can wash away bad feelings," she said simply. "It makes the flowers grow…"

"Yes, and it can also give princesses colds, hypothermia, or even pneumonia." He placed one hand on her arm and frowned at how cold she was. "Come inside with me."

"What if I get that weird feeling again?" she asked worriedly, her bangs now sopping and partially obscuring her vision.

"Don't worry," he told her. "I'll take care of it." He used his free hand to flick his wand, summoning the towels from earlier. He sheathed the wand for now and wrapped the princess in the towels. "Let's go."

"But I—" Before she could protest further, Cedric picked her up and hurriedly moved them back into the castle, where they were greeted by a rush of warmth from the interior.

"You need to change into something dry," the sorcerer told her seriously, frowning at her unkempt appearance. "I have to return these towels to my workshop. And _then_ we're going to talk."

Sofia worried her lip nervously. She was afraid of that.

A little while later after Sofia was dry and dressed in warmer clothing (long sleeved purple pajama top and bottoms to match, no less), she sat on her bed and looked at her door when she heard a light knock. "Come in."

Cedric walked inside and headed over toward her bed, standing near the end. "May I?"

Sofia blinked but moved back toward her pillows and nodded for him to sit, which he did.

After a few moments of silence between the sorcerer and his apprentice, Cedric finally asked, "Mind explaining that reaction earlier?"

"I don't know if I can," Sofia told him honestly.

"Sofia, you ran outside into the rain while a lightning storm was going on." He frowned. "I think you should at least _try_ to explain that to me… That was dangerous."

"I know, and I'm sorry… I didn't mean to worry you." She grabbed her doll replica he'd made for her a little while ago and held it closer to her. "I'm just…having flashbacks recently. I sometimes miss my life in the village, even though I love it here. If I weren't here, I wouldn't have Dad, Baileywick, Amber, or James…or you." She saw a ghost of a smile appear on his face as she sighed. "I guess it's the simple things I miss about living in the village…but at the same time I don't always miss it." She sighed in frustration as she leaned more into her pillows. "I don't know _what_ is wrong with me, Mr. Cedric."

"It's called having an internal conflict," he explained, chuckling a little at the situation. "Granted, it usually happens to people a bit older than you, but you've always been rather mature for such a young princess."

She smiled gratefully and listened carefully.

"What you want, my dear, is a bit of both of your lives: the commoner and the princess. And you have it quite often, especially with your visits to see your friends and help out others. You know you're not confined solely to these walls. That would be absurd." He shrugged. "Sure, you're a princess now, but that's only part of who you are. You're _Sofia_, and you've retained every bit of child-like wonder and spontaneity since the first day I met you."

She blinked. "Is that a good thing?" she wondered curiously.

Cedric smirked. "It's a Sofia thing." Hearing her giggle, he smiled. "And really, isn't that all you can ask for in the end? You can be both: Princess Sofia or just Sofia. Regardless, they're both rather interesting young ladies."

Sofia smiled shyly. "Thanks, Mr. Cedric."

"Now, I think we'd best call it a night. With the storm raging on like this, it actually would make fairly decent sleeping weather."

The princess laughed and shook her head in humor. "You and your sleeping…"

He grinned. "You should try it sometime." He stood up and ruffled her hair playfully, eliciting another giggle from her. "Night, Princess."

"Good night, Mr. Cedric." She smiled and closed her eyes, turning over in her bed.

Cedric watched her carefully for a few more moments, making sure she wasn't going to have another episode, before ultimately deciding that she seemed much better. He smiled lightly and turned, exiting the girl's room with a soft click of the door behind him.

Meanwhile, Sofia had pleasant dreams of both her past and present, neither of which made her feel out of place or wistful for what could have been.

The end

A/N: Okay, let me see if I can explain the premise of this story (and warning, it's going to be a little lengthy)… Do you ever have occasions where you feel really out of place for no reason whatsoever? It's usually pretty random, and it's often highly uncomfortable, and you just want to return to a sense of normalcy. I used to have these sensations a lot. I called these times "Dusty Sunny Afternoon at Grandma's." lol Weird title, I know. The best way to explain that is that I used to feel so uncomfortable in my grandmother's apartment when I was younger—nothing to do with my Grandma whatsoever, just the apartment. It's weird. I'm also not an "afternoon" person (obviously, since I'm usually up late at night), and I'm one of those weirdoes who prefers rain over sunshine. Yep, sorry. And the dusty part? I used to sit at her window and stare outside, and in the window pane I'd see little particles of dust highlighted by the sun. It made me sleepy. Haha. And with all of that, I just wanted to return to my "norm" and either go home or be presented with a completely different environment. Some people said it sounds like déjà vu but I don't know. If you know what that's called, then by all means, tell me! Lol. I'd love to have a conclusion to this decades-long sensation. :D

Anyway, I imagine that's a feeling Sofia would get sometimes too: randomly uncomfortable in her current setting and longing for a sense of "normalcy," whatever that may be. Yes, I told you my mind was a weird place! Haha, either way, hope you liked this. Till next time!

A/N 2: Oh! I have a bit of a challenge for you all. Consider it a mini scavenger hunt of sorts. The first person to correctly comment in reviews (not PM to be fair) wins a story request (must be K-rated material and in the Sofia the First realm, of course). Here's the challenge: What is the full name of the Iranian-Canadian singer who has played both Enjolras and Jean Valjean in various productions of "Les Misérables" and the Phantom in various productions of "Phantom of the Opera?" :D This is one of my absolute _favorite_ singers, by the way. ;) Good luck.

~AquaTurquoise


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